rp 681 

. T66 
Dopy 1 


i 






NEW SHOPS AND OFFICES. 





































We Manufacture in 

Our ffebu Shops: 


Cotton Oil Machinery. 

A Huller, No. i, to do 40 to 
100 tons of seed a day. 

A Huller, No. 2, to do 20 to 
40 tons of seed a day. 

A Huller Feeder to distribute 
the seed and feed them to 
the huller regularly. 

A Sand and Boll Reel with 
a blower or without a 
blower. 

A Separating Screen with 
Shaker. 

A Separating Beater. 

A Steam Trap to drain heat¬ 
ers or steam pipes. 

A Change Valve (automatic) 
for high and low pressure 
which is the simplest and 
best ever made. 

A Filter Press for crude or 
refined oil. 

An Emery Wheel Stand with 
arbor and wheel. 


Cotton Mill Machinery. 

A Yarn Reel to make skeins 
from 54 to 72 inches. 

A Yarn Reel to make skeins 
from 72 to 90 inches. 

A Starch Kettle 150 gallons 
capacity, with the equiva¬ 
lent of double stirring 
apparatus. 

A Spooler of new and suprior 
design. 

A Warper Beam. 

A Band Machine. 

A Drawing-in Frame. 

A Beam Truck. 

An Electric Switchboard of 
Slate or Marble. 

An Electric Driven Supply 
Pump to pump water from 
any distance. 

A Series of Hangers for Shaft¬ 
ing of very superior de¬ 
sign for strength and con¬ 
venience. 

A Series of Tank Towers 
made of iron for fire pro¬ 
tection. 

A Series of Automatic Relief 
Valves for condensing 
engines. These valves 
are to turn exhaust steam 
into the atmosphere when¬ 
ever, for any reason, the 
condenser fails to work. 


The D. A. Tompkins Co., 

CHARLOTTE, N. C. 




























































4 






. 

' : . • ' 






COTTON SEED OIL, 

History and Commercial Features. 


With Illustrations 

OF THE VARIOUS MACHINES USED IN ITS MANUFACTURE. 


With Estimates 

OF COSTS OF PLANTS, COSTS OF OPERATIONS, AND PROFITS UNDER 
DIFFERENT CONDITIONS. 


/ 

By D. A. TOMPKINS. 



CHARLOTTE, N. C. 
1902. 




THE LIBRARY OF 

CONGRESS, 
Two Cottia Reobved 

JAN. 30 1902 


’YKfQHT ENTRY 

io-iq O'!/ 
UkSS Cts XXa No. 
1. L o i i 
copy a 



Copyright 1902 

BY 

D. A. Tompkins. 









Caution. 


Most of this pamphlet is copied from Chapter XI, of a book, 
“Cotton and Cotton Oil,” by D. A. Tompkins. 

For Table of Contents of the book, see latter part of this pamphlet. 
The book is copyrighted; this pamphlet is copyrighted. It is 
unlawful to co,py <any of ( the .matter (with cr< 'without giving credit) 
except by wrkaeVj <pei;i^ii6c{AU thk AutftoK 
Infringements will* be prosecuted. 




Presses Observer Printing House, 
Charlotte, N. C. 



Cotton £eei> ©il. 

THtstoi^ an£> Commercial ^features 


From time immemorial, the praise of the olive tree has 
been sung, both in sacred and profane literature. For 
centuries before and after the Christian era, it was-held, 
and is still held, in the highest esteem. This high estima¬ 
tion in which the olive tree is held, comes undoubtedly 
from the fact that in its fruit and oil, mankind has heret 
fore obtained more that is useful than from any other 
plant or tree. 

It was an olive branch that the dove brought back to 
Noah in the ark, to give courage and hope to survivors 
of the flood. The olive branch is well nigh an universal 
emblem of peace among all peoples. 

In ancient times, and in many countries still, olive oil is 
the principal, and in many cases the only cooking grease. 
Our Anglo-Saxon habit of using animal fats in its stead, is 
the exception, and no : the rule. In The Arabian Nights, 
the story goes, that forty thieves were concealed in jars 
that were supposed to contain oil. 

Throughout the same ages, the cotton plant has always 
existed; but, remarkable as it may seem, its value was 
never fully understood, until within the past 25 years. 

The three prime necessities of the human race are: food, 
clothing and shelter. Towards these, the olive tree fur¬ 
nishes its fruit and oil for food, and in a very limited ex¬ 
tent its wood for construction. The cotton plant now 
supplies lint, from which clothing for the body, the bed 
and household (carpets) is made. It supplies oil for cook¬ 
ing purposes, and for many industrial uses, such as for 
lamps in mines, and to a limited extent for lubrication, fur 
making soap, glycerine, candles, butter, lard, and for in¬ 
numerable other uses. 



4 


The cotton seed meal is used for supplying ammonia 
and other constituents in commercial fertilizers, for cattle 
food in dairies, for fattening beef, sheep, and for various 
other purposes. Lately, however, it is being mostly 
used as a food for cattle and sheep. This is especially the 
case at dairy farms, and where cattle are being fatted for 
beef, and at saw mills, where oxen are used to haul logs. 

In truth, we are suddenly brought to a realization of the 
fact that the cotton plant gives us more than the olive tree 
ever gave to mankind. And, by perfecting machinery 
and methods for the production of useful products from 
cotton seed, values which have for centuries been un¬ 
known, have suddenly been brought to light. The men 
who have been most instrumental in the production of 
valuable products from cotton seed, have been doing a 
work not only for themselves, but for the country at large, 
and for all humanity. 

Tf>e First Cotton Seed Oil Mills. 

The first mill was built at Natchez, Miss., in 1834. A 
Mr. Martin operated a cotton seed oil mill in New 
Orleans as far bacK as 1847. But few other mills were 
built prior to the Civil War. Immediately after the Civil 
war of 1860-65, several mills were built, some of which 
succeeded, and some failed 

In 1869 General E. P. Alexander built a cotton seed oil 
mill at Columbia, S. C. Following this, other mills were 
built in different parts of the cotton growing area. By 
1 880, the business of crushing cotton seed had developed 
into a distinct and entirely legitimate business, but the 
process employed, and everything pertaining to the indus¬ 
try was held in great secrecy. 

The oil was found :c be about the same as olive oil. and 
the cake and meal wa» largely exported and used in Eng¬ 
land, and on the Continent, for stock food. What was pur¬ 
chased in America was principally used as a fertilizer. 
The oil was used principally as a substitute for, or an adul¬ 
terant of, olive oil, and readily sold in the crude state, at 
from 50 to 60 cents per gallon. 



Fig. i. Sand and Boll Screen. 



























7 


Those mills that were managed with even a rough ap¬ 
proximation to ordinary care and business judgment'made 
very large profits. As the business still developed and the 
price of oil became less, the pork packers discovered that 
it could be advantageously used with certain beef pro¬ 
ducts to make an excellent cooking fat, to take the place 
of hog lard. Since its adaptation to this use, large and in¬ 
creasing quantities have been consumed by concerns that 
slaughter cattle and dress beef for market. Since about 
1880, the consumption of cotton seed oil has been further 
increased by its use for packing sardines on the coast of 
Maine, for making butter in America, Holland and else¬ 
where, and for numerous other purposes. 

T^e Machinery Used. 

The principal machinery used in early cotton seed oil 
mills was brought from England. It no doubt comprised 
such heaters and presses as were used to crush oil from lin¬ 
seed, Egyptian cotton seed, and other oil seeds that were 
produced in or shipped to England. Egyptian cotton 
seed are black and lintless, very similar to seed from Sea 
Island cotton in this country. The process of working 
them was very simple They were first crushed under old 
fashioned mulling stones, then put in steam jacketed ket¬ 
tles with mechanical stirrers, and cooked. The product 
was dumped from the kettle or heater into a wooden bin, 
and from the bin it was put into a hydraulic press contain¬ 
ing about five boxes, and put under about two to three 
thousand pounds pressure to the square inch, on rams ten 
to twelve inches in diameter. 

Upland American seed are not entirely free from lint. 
On account of the quantity of oil this lint is capable of ab¬ 
sorbing, and also on account of the injury which the lint 
is to the cake as a food stuff, it was important to separate 
the hull from the meats. This was accomplished by the 
use of a huller, a machine to cut the seed to pieces, and 
screening out the meats from the hulls, in bolting chests, 
having the reel clothed with wire cloth. 

The earlier mills were either built by foreign mechanics, 


8 



or native Southern mechanics of ante-bellum type, botii 
of whom were dogmatic, opinionated and incompetent. 
It commonly required about two years for these to build 
a mill, and get it into successful operation. 

The costs, profits, processes and all other information 
about an oil mill were kept carefully concealed by owners 
and millwrights or experts. 

From 1882 to 1884, the subject was first looked into 
from an engineering point of view. In 1884, there was 
erected the first cotton seed oil mill ever built from de¬ 
signs made by the modern type of educated and practical 
American engineer. 

Most of the seed worked in the United States are up- . 
land seed. The average physical composition of a ton of 
these upland seed as received at the oil mill is about as fol¬ 


lows : 

Short lint. 70 lbs 

Hull.910 lbs 

Oil (51 gals).382 lbs 

Meal . 600 lbs 

Sand and other foreign matter. 38 lbs 


^,uuu 

These proportions vary with seasons, soils, character 
of ginning and care or conscience of the farmer, ginner or 
seed agent. By bad ginning there may be 125 pounds of lint 
left on the seed,.and by very good ginning, the seed may 
be cleared of lint to within 50 pounds. 

1 he best possible oil mill is one in which the separation 
of the above constituents is most nearly complete and put 
in marketable shape at the least expense per ton. 

The process of manufacture in American oil mills un¬ 
derwent very little change until about 1880. From that 
time forward, great improvement has been made in ma¬ 
chinery, such as improved hullers, improved linters, steel 
plate boxes in presses (requiring no hair mats), chilled rolls 
m place of muller stones, etc, etc. 









Cotton Seed Linter. 





















































































' 










































































































































































































































































* 



























II 


The Process. 

The process now conducted in first-class mills is about 
as follows: 

1. The seed are cleaned of sand. 

2. Then cleaned of the Other foreign substances, such 
as bolls, pieces of wood, etc. 

3. They are then carried to the linters, and re-ginned 
for a part of the short lint. 

4. They are then carried to the huller, which cuts them 
to pieces. 

5. Then in a reel the meats are separated from the 
hulls. 

6. The hulls are then taken out, heretofore to the fire 
room for fuel, but latterly to be sold as cattle feed. 

7. The meats are taken to the rolls which crush them, 
breaking the oil cells. 

8. From the rolls, the meats go into heaters, in which 
they are cooked. 

9. From the heaters, meats are taken into the former, 
where cakes are formed and enclosed in cloth. 

10. The cakes are placed in the press and the oil ex¬ 
tracted by pressure. 

11. The cake remaining in the press is taken out, al- 
lowel to cool, and may then be cracked and ground into 
meal. 

The following tables will exhibit the variety of results 
from operating various kinds of oil mills, under different 
conditions. 


12 





TABLE VI. 


SHOWING PRODUCTS AND VALUES OBTAINED 
FROM ONE TON OF SEED IN THE EARLY 
OIL MILLS: 


1.000 lbs hulls, used as fuel.S .30 

775 lbs meal (a 90c... 6.98 

225 lbs oil=30 gallons @ 60c. 18.00 


2.000 lbs seed, giving product worth.$25.28 


Cost of seed.Si0.00 

Cost of working. 5.00 Si 5.00 


Frotlt . $10.28 

A mill of this design capable of working 5,000 tons of 
seed per year, should therefore have made, and often did 
make, with good management. $50,000 per year. 

At the present day, meal remains at about the same 
price shown in the above table. Oil, however, has declin¬ 
ed fully half. By improved mills and machinery, the cost 
per ton of working seed has been much reduced, and the 
quantity of oil per ton has been increased. 

Many mills exist that can never be made first-class, ex¬ 
cept by entire reconstruction. Of the mills still being 
built, there is much variation in the quality of the design 
and workmanship on the machinerv. 












*3 


TABLE VII. 


SHOWING PRESENT PRODUCT AND VALUES 
OBTAINED FROM ONE TON OF SEED IN AN 
OLD OR BADLY CONSTRUCTED OIL MILL IN 
A GOOD YEAR. 


Oil, 39 gals at 30 cents per gal.$11.70 

Meal, 675 pounds at $1.00 per cwt. 6.75 

Hull, 950 pounds at $3.00 per ton. 1.42 

Lint, 25 pounds at 3c ... .. .75 


$20.62 


Cost of seed delivered at mill. ... S14-00 


Cost of working, bags, barrels, etc. 3.50 

Cost of fuel. 1.00 18 50 

Profit. S2.12 


A mill under these circumstances, working 5.000 to~s 
of seed per year, couid therefore make a profit of more 
than $10,000. 











M 


TABLE VIII. 

SHOWING PRESENT PRODUCTS AND VALUES 
OBTAINED FROM ONE TON OF SEED IN AN 
OLD OR BADLY CONSTRUCTED MILL, IN A 
BAD YEAR. 

Oil 35 gals at 20c. $7.00 

Meal, 675 pounds at 90c per cwt.. 6.08 

Hull, 950 pounds at $3.00 per ton. 1.42 

Lint, 25 pounds at 3c.75 


$i5-25 

Cost of seed delivered at mill. $12.00 

Cost of working, bags, barrels, etc. 3.50 

Cost of fuel, per ton. 1.00 16.50 


Loss. $1.25 

A mill under these circumstances, working 5,000 tons of 
seed per year would lose over $5,000. 












TABLE IX. 


SHOWING PRESENT PRODUCTS AND VALUES 
OBTAINED FROM ONE TON OF SEED IN 
WELL DESIGNED MILL WITH THE BEST MA¬ 
CHINERY, IN A GOOD YEAR. 


Oil, 40 gals at 30c . . $12.00 

Meal, 675 pounds at $1.00 cwt. 6.75 

Hull, 950 pounds at $4.00 per ton. i.QO 

Lint, 30 pounds at 3c. .90 


$21.55 

Cost of seed.$15.00 

Cost of working, bags, etc. 3.00 

Cost of fuel. .50 $18.50 


Profit. $ 3°5 


A mill under these circumstances, working 5,000 tons 
of seed per year would make a profit of about $15,000. 












i6 

TABLE X. 

SHOWING PRESENT PRODUCTS AND VALUES 
OBTAINED FROM ONE TON OF SEED IN A 
WELL DESIGNED MILL WITH THE BEST MA¬ 
CHINERY, IN A BAD YEAR. 


Oil, 40 gals at 20c.$8.00 

Meal, 675 pounds, at 90c. 6.08 

Hull, 950 pounds at $4.00. 1.90 

Lint, 30 pounds at 30..go 


$16.88 


Cost of seed. 

Cost of working, bags, etc 
Cost of fuel. 


$12.00 

3.00 

•50 


15-50 


Profit 


$1.38 


A mill under these circumstances, working 5,000 tons 
of seed per year, would make a profit of nearly $7,000 
This would be a dividend of 14 per cent, on a capital of 
$50,000 in the worst year. This shows the value of first- 
class designs in an oil mill. 

These figures are all average estimates. There is, of 
course, great variation in prices at different times, and in 
prices at different parts of the seed territory. They appiy 
also to the oil mill business, without supplemental or aux¬ 
iliary adjuncts, that are now coming into vogue. 

As a matter of fact, the best modern concerns in the 
East comprise in one plant, a ginnery, oil mill, fertilizer 
works and cotton mill, each department helping the other. 

In the operation of an oil mill, the personality of the man¬ 
ager and his capacity to make quick and accurate decisions 
on commercial points, has a greater influence on the profits 
than is the case in most other businesses. 














Fig. 3. Tompkins’ Cotton Seed Huller axid teeder. 










































i8 


The Tompkins Huller, Fig. 3, is built in two sizes— 
No. 1 with cylinder 20 inches in diameter, 30 inches long, 
and No. 2 with cylinder of same diameter, 17 inches long. 
The large size has a capacity of 40 to 100 tons of seed 
per day of 24 hours. It has two pulleys, 15x9, and should 
run 900 revolutions per minute. The feeder (which is 
furnished at an extra cost) is run by an independent pul¬ 
ley, 18x4, and should run 100 revolutions per minute. 

The smaller size has a capacity of 20 to 40 tons. It 
should run at same speed as the No. 1. 

These machines are much heavier and more rigid than 
any other huller on the market. The designs have been 
worked out as the result of many years’ practical use of 
hullers, and there are many improvements over the old 
forms. 

The engraving shows a sub-base, which is furnished at 
an extra cost with either huller when it is desired to have 
them stand higher from the floor. 

The cylinder and the knives are machined all over, and 
the knives can be set without the use of paper liners. 

The bearings are ring oiling. 

In Fig. 4 is shown a separating device attached to the 
Tompkins huller, standing on a sub-base. Heretofore it 
has been necessary to elevate the material from the huller 
and deliver it into a separating screen. The use of the 
sub-base raises the huller so that it can deliver direct into 
the separating machine standing on the same floor. The 
separator consists of a frame carrying a cage of perforated 
steel and a shaft with beating blades, which stir the ma¬ 
terial and beat the meats through into a conveyor, which 
is a part of the machine. 

The hulls are spouted out at the ends. 

For small mills there are many who prefer this beater 
separator to the screen separator. 


FEEDER 




Fig. 4. Tompkins' Combined Huller and Beater Separator. 











































20 


liulls for Fucl. 

Throughout the ertire South, the use of hulls for fuel 
has been totally abandoned, and they are being used as 
stock food, many mills having added the business of fat¬ 
tening cattle for beef. The use of hulls and meal together 
has been thoroughly demonstrated to be excellent for fat¬ 
tening cattle for beef, and also for feeding dairy cattle. 
These combinations have been, in fact, so perfected in de¬ 
sign that several plants have been built to put the seed 
cotton as a raw material through a complete cycle of oper¬ 
ations, as follows: 

1. Separating the lint from the seed. 

2. Separating the short lint. 

3. Separating the hull and meat. 

4. Separating the oil and meal. 

5. Mixing meal and other ingredients for fertilizer. 

6. Feeding hulls and meal to cattle, using the manure 
as a fertilizer. 

7. Spinning and weaving the lint, making yarn and 
cloth. 

Thus, taking seed cotton as a raw material, the pro¬ 
ducts are taken out that are valuable for clothing and ani¬ 
mal food, and what is useless for these purposes is returned 
to the soil, to make the new crop. 

Table XI. exhibits the value that might be obtained 
from the seed from ten million bales of cotton, if manu¬ 
factured under the ordinary improved processes now in 
common use, and sold at current prices. 



Fig. Huller Feeder. 










































































TABLE XI. 


SHOWING VALUE OF ORDINARY MANUFAC¬ 
TURED PRODUCTS OF COTTON SEED FROM 
TEN MILLION BALES OF COTTON. 


200 million gals oil (40 gals- per ton from 

five million tons) at 30c. $60,000,000 

Two and a half million tons hulls at $4.00. . 10,000,000 

One and two-thirds million tons of meal at 

$21.00. 35,000,000 

100 million pounds lint at 3c. 3,000,000 


Total.$108,000,000 

The total seed crop of 1900 as disposed of by ante-bel¬ 
lum planters would not have been worth $5,000,000, as 


against more than $100,000,000, if utilized according to 
the present known methods of obtaining values out of 
them. 

But the values indicated in the above table represent 
even much less than the possible results. 

Two and a half million tons of hulls will fatten for mar- f 
ket two and a half million heavy beef cattle, or would 
maintain a proportionate number of dairy cattle. 

From these cattle come beef, tallow, glue, all dairy 
products, and still further developed industries. The oil, jj 
besides being used as a cooking oil, gives also glycerine, 
candles, soap, lard, butter and indefinite other products/ j 
and industries. Notable as an example of one of the use$ 
to which it goes: The cylinders of the phonograph are 
made from the “soap stock” residue in refining cotton oil 

DeliQtiQg Machinery. 

There is a legend in the oil business that there is a for¬ 
tune in store for the man who invents a means of cleaning 
the lint from upland cotton seed so that they have the ap¬ 
pearance of Sea Island or Egyptian seed. The country is 







24 


full of inventors trying to make seed cleaning machines^ 
Most of the workers at the problem have never stopped 
to ask the question where the fortune would come from, 
or why it should even be expected that there would be 
profit in a perfected delinting machine. Many machines 
have been invented and made—quite a number of good 
ones, but nobody has yet made the fortune. 

Whenever any evidence is exhibited at all in support of 
the assertion or idea that a delinting machine would be 
valuable, the argument is about as follows: The price of 
seed in America is $10.00 per ton; in England it is quoted 
about $24.00 per ton Therefore, if a machine could be in¬ 
vented to make American seed look like the Egyptian/ 
there would be a fortune it. 

As a matter of fact, when seed are quoted at $10.00 in 
this country and $24.00 in England, the meaning of a ton 
in this country is 2,coo pounds, and in England 2,240 
pounds. If this be considered, and there be added to the 
cost of seed in this country the cost of cleaning, freight to 
port, ocean freight, handling and commission on the other 
side, and freight to mill on the other side, it will be found 
cheaper to work seed in America by the usual American 
process. The seed from the American sea island cotton 
are already clean, and are already near ports in most cases,, 
and yet no important business has ever been developed in 
shipping them abroad. The reason is, that if they can be 
purchased at a reasonable price, it pays better to work them 
in this country than to attempt to ship them. 

Linting. 

Much has been said about the value of the lint that is- 
not true. After seed are well linted by an ordinary linter, 
what is left is of not much value as fibre or paper stock 

A good linter gets from 20 to 30 pounds of lint from a 
ton of seed, when about five tons per day is put through 
one machine. It is a considerable question whether it is 
worth the cost to take more than 30 pounds of lint from: 
average seed. 

Assuming the ability of the linters to get say 30 pounds 





Fig. 6. Chilled Rolls. 


































27 


of lint per ton, the linters may be so arranged as to run 
the entire seed first through one half the linters, getting 
fifteen pounds per ton, and then run them through the 
other half, getting fifteen pounds more. The first lint 
would sell for say 4 cents per pound, making 60 cents per 
ton. The second lint would bring say 2 cents per pound, 
making 30 cents per ton, making a total of 90 cents per 
ton. 

On the other hand, running the seed through all the 
linters at. one time would give, say 30 pounds of uniform 
quality, which would sell at about 3 cents per pound, 
making 90 cents per ton also. The question of profit 
would depend more on the market to be reached than 
upon anything in the mill. 

Storing Cotton Seed. 

Cotton seed are very perishable, and the danger of heat¬ 
ing might be estimated at 10 per cent, of their value. By 
care, this may be reduced to 5 per cent, or less. 

A mill having a capacity of 30 tons of seed per 24 hours, 
and a storage capacity of 1,000 tons of seed, from the 15th 
of September to the 15th of February, would work about 
3,000 tons; allowing for breakdowns and holidays. 

To work 5,000 tons instead of 3,000 may be accom¬ 
plished by increasing storage capacity to the extent of 
2,000 tons, making 3.000 instead of 1,000, and using the 
same machinery; or L may be done by leaving seed storage 
unchanged, and adding additional machinery to work the 
2,000 tons additional seed in the same time. 

By adding storage, there would be the following items 
of additional expense: 

1. Liability of seed to rot or damage. 

2. Interest on money invested in 2,000 tons stored seed. 

3. Less oil per ton on stored seed than on seed worked 
fresh. 

4. Less price on oil out of stored seed, if in any way 
heated. 


23 


5- Additional labor for working same tonnage for a 
longer time. 

6. Interest on increased warehouse cost. 

By adding new machinery there would be the following 
additional expenses and advantages: 

1. Interest on value of additional machinery. 

2. Repairs on additional machinery. 

3. Less cost per ton, because the same force can usually 
operate the additional machinery and make the increased 
output in the same time. 

4. The meal can be put on the market for the current 
year, instead of part o: it having to be carried over to an¬ 
other season. 

By having ample mill capacity, as against large storage 
capacity, and working seed practically as fast as received, 
banking facilities become a much simpler matter, and in 
all respects the manufacture is facilitated and cheapened. 
But there is a limit to the profitable capacity of a single mill. 
It is believed that the most profitable size mill ranges from 
25 to 100 tons capacity, according to locality and amount 
of seed available. Mills larger than this become difficult 
to manage. One of the difficulties consists in the handling 
of the large amounts of seed which come by rail, during the 
short season in which seed are marketed. If larger capacity 
than 100 tons per day is desired, it is better to build two or 
more separate mills. 

It is a good rule in any manufactory to keep on hand 
the least raw material necessary for regular running, and 
to sell products about as they are ready for the market. 
To accumulate raw material is to speculate in it, and to 
hold the products is equally speculative; and a factory is 
not necessary if speculation is the object. It is best to ac¬ 
cept whatever profit there is in manufacture at current 
market prices of raw material and products, and when, 
current market prices yield no profit, shut down and wait 














































3i 


for one or the other of the markets to change. By this 
plan it is always eas> to determine what a factory can 
afford to pay for raw material. 

Whenever a mill is not in condition to operate, by be¬ 
ing unfinished or otherwise, it is especially dangerous to 
accumulate seed. If it seems desirable to purchase them, 
they should be bought and sold as a mercantile transaction 
but not held to wait completion of a new mill, or repairs 
on an old one. 

The following table shows complete cost or capital in¬ 
vestment necessary for cotton seed oil mills, refineries 
and cotton ginneries. 


TABLE XII. SHOWING COST OF OIL MILL PLANTS. 


•Xj3ng3R 
puw As OHIO 
‘ll!K ‘UO ‘PHOX 

$ 58,000 

65,000 

100,000 

140,000 

‘singd pne 
‘3snou3JB aa. 
uonoo ptiB 
‘suiQ pneE! 

Xlg ‘AJ3UU|0 

■" | 

$ 15,000 

15,000 

15,000 

15,000 

•Aj3ixg3>r pxiB 

HUM UO l«*ox 

1 43,000 

50,000 

85,000 

125,000 

•sriBjd pnB 
t AjsnxipBui 

IP PUB xflll 

•ppriq Snip 
-npui ‘XjsxigsR 

$ 11,600 

15 000 

25,000 

35,000 

•ssnog jR3i^ 

P ll B p 3 3 S 
ptiB sjspoa 

‘lUW UO IB*0£ 

$ 17,500 

31,400 

35,000 

60,000 

90,000 

•XXOI'PS.I'R 
pxxs X gJ3 13J J 

$ 2,000 

4.500 

4.800 

8.500 

12.500 

•snRid pnB !po 
apnjD s^bui 

ox iuim no 

xii Ajsixxxp 
-bim jaipo uy 

$ 5,000 

8,500 

10,000 

22.000 

34,500 

•Ajopbr 'H *o 

‘R XjSIIigDBXAI 

III O O R SS3JJ 

$ 4,500 

6.400 

8,200 

12.500 

18.500 

•Xfd 

-anR J3JBM. 
pxiB gaix^s 

H M pUB ptlB'I 

$ 1,000 

2,000 

2,000 

2,000 

2,500 

ssstxoq jbsjv 

pxiB p 3 3 s 

•J31XOR ‘IPIV 

PO Suipnp 
-xxi ‘sSaxppna 

$ 5,000 

10,000 

10.000 

15,000 

22,000 

•snox ax ‘sjnog 
fZ JOj’XxpBdeo 

10 to 15 

20 to 30 

30 to 40 

60 to 80 

100 to 120 
































33 


The estimates in table XII. are based on refineries de¬ 
signed to turn out a variety of products, such as summer 
yellow, butter oil, white oils and miners’ oils. 

If it is desired to make winter oils also, the cost would 
be increased about 50 per cent. If only , summer yellow oil 
is to be produced, the cost would be about 50 per cent, less 
than the table. 

The cost of a crude cotton seed oil mill may be said to be 
about $1,000 per ton (of seed in 24 hours) capacity. 

The cost of refinery of about the character contemplated in 
Table XII. ranges from $300 to $500 per ton capacity of 
the crude oil mill. 

Transportatior) ar)d Uses of Cotton Oil. 

The final test of cotton seed oil is edibility. The high¬ 
est prices can only be obtained on this basis. When the 
quality of an oil falls below this, it goes into other uses 
and brings lower prices. In the early days of the business, 
this oil was looked upon entirely as an adulterant. It was 
shipped to Italy and France as an adulterant for olive oil, 
and was shipped to the lard works or “packing houses” 
of the United States, as an adulterant for lard. These 
uses still continue, but are growing into more general 
favor on the merits of the oil itself. There is still some 
prejudice against it, and justly so when used as an adul¬ 
terant. But commerce is becoming accustomed to “com¬ 
pound lard,” and “lard compound,” and other names sug¬ 
gestive of the mixed character of the product; and the 
business of making acceptable culinary articles from cot¬ 
ton seed oil has become legitimate and desirable. Some 
of these compounds contain pure hog lard; while some 
contain none at all, and are advertised as such. It is es¬ 
timated that 30 per cent, of the cotton oil produced in 
the United States is consumed in this manner. Most of 
the packing houses, where these lard compounds are made, 
are in the^West. This business has recently commenced 
to grow in the South 

Formerly, owing to lack of skill at the oil mills, the oil 
■was shipped in the crude state, to these distant works, 



34 


where it was first refined and then utilized. Latterly, the 
mills have begun refining the oil before shipping, thus 
making the additional profit. 

Oil is sold nominally by the gallon, but actually by the 
pound. The commercial gallon of cotton seed oil, crude or 
refined, weighs pounds. When oil is sold, the net 
weight is divided by in order to reduce it to gallons. In 
practice, this would often leave awkward fractions, so the 
custom is to multiply the weight by 2, and divide by 15, 
thus leaving any fraction as I5ths. 

Previous to about 1886, the standard package for both 
crude and refined cotton oil was second-hand kerosene 
barrels. These were cleaned with hot steam, until they 
had no odor of kerosene, and were lined with glue to en¬ 
sure tightness. If the work of cleaning is properly donc r 
this makes an acceptable package. As the business grew,, 
many became careless in cleaning the barrels, and many 
used varnish barrels and linseed oil barrels. This engen¬ 
dered a prejudice against all second-hand barrels. At the 
same time, the demand for second-hand kerosene oil bar¬ 
rels became greater than the supply, and within a very 
short while, it became the standard practice to use new 
barrels. 

The use of tank cars for domestic shipments has been 
steadily superseding barrels. Most of the packing houses 
own large numbers of tank cars, which they send out to 
oil mills for their oil. Most of the large mills also own 
tank cars, in which they ship their product, and which 
they often use for purchasing crude oil from small mills,, 
which are not equipped with refineries. Tank cars for 
cotton oil generally hold 6,000 to 7,000 gallons, or 45,000 
to 52,500 pounds. This is the most convenient way to 
transport oil of all grades. They are also, to some extent^ 
being used for soap stock, or the residues from refining. 

Tank cars are proviaed with coils of pipe on the inside r 
so arranged that hot steam may be used to thaw out the 
oil when it is congea.ed by cold weather. It is import¬ 
ant to see that these coils are always in good order, so that 
no steam may be blown direct into the oil. 





SUmih I’oimn. 


























I 


37 


Oil for export must, of course, be put up in barrels. It 
is essential that the barrels be first-class, otherwise there 
will be great loss from leakage under the numerous hand¬ 
lings which they undergo. 

A small amount of oil is now being exported in tank 
steamships, arranged to carry it in bulk, in compartments. 
These ships ply between Southern ports of America, where 
there are large storage tanks, and certain ports of Europe, 
where there are similar facilities. 

About 65 per cent, of all the cotton oil produced in the 
United States is exported. About one-third of this, be¬ 
ing the best grades, goes to Holland, for use in making 
artificial butter, which reaches its perfection in that coun¬ 
try. The finest grades of summer yellow oil are known in 
the trade as “butter oil.” Some of the best grades of 
oil also go to Southern European ports for admixture 
with olive oil, and also, to some extent, for an edible oil 
under its own name. South Europeans have always 
been accustomed to eating olive oil, as other people eat 
butter, and the poorer classes accept cotton oil as a cheap 
substitute. Large quantities of inferior grades, being 
about one-third of all our exports, go to Marseilles and 
neighboring ports for soap making. 

Inferior oils are frequently bleached by sulphuric acid 
at the refineries into “white oil,” and used as an illumin- 
ant, in place of lard oil. The principal use of this oil is 
for admixture with petroleums of high flashing point, to 
be burned in miners’ lamps. This grade of white cotton 
oil is generally known as “miners’ oil.” It should not be 
confused with prime white oil, which is bleached from 
first quality summer yellow, by the use of fullers earth, and 
which is used in compound lard. 

There are many minor uses for cotton oil, among which 
may be mentioned the packing of sardines and similar 
fish. It has been frequently tried as an adulterant for lin¬ 
seed oil, or as a substitute for it, in painting. The dif¬ 
ficulty has always been, that in its natural state, cotton 
oil will not dry out and leave the paint hard. Numerous 


38 


processes have been exploited for making it into a drying 
oil; but none have so far been a commercial success. It 
has often been tried as a lubricant, but its gummy nature 
prevents any success in this field, except for the most or¬ 
dinary purposes. Several processes .have been tried for 
removing the gum or resin. There have been some lab¬ 
oratory experiments, which seem to indicate that a use¬ 
ful gum may be extracted and used as a substitute for 
rubber, while leaving the oil in a condition to use as a lu¬ 
bricant, but as yet, these processes have not been com¬ 
mercially successful. 

Transportation and Uses of Cotton Seed Meal. 

When the oil nas been extracted by hydraulic presses, 
there remains the cake. Formerly, when the presses were 
differently constructed and the processes were somewhat 
different, this cake was softer than it is at the present 
time. It was largely exported as cake, and sold for cat¬ 
tle food. It was broken into pieces and fed, in connection 
with other material. In some cases it was ground line, 
after being exported, and fed in this condition. . It has 
been found that the finely ground meal mixes more readi¬ 
ly, and is more digestible than cake, and so the practice 
of feeding cake nas been nearly abandoned. The Ger¬ 
mans were the first to realize the value of fine grinding. 
From the beginning of the business, very small quantities 
of cake, and large quantities of meal were exported to 
Germany, while England and other countries preferred 
cake. In some cases this preference for cake was caused 
by the fear of adulteration in meal. 

Cake was formerly packed into coarse second-hand 
gunny sacks and driven in with a mallet, in order to 
make a firm package. These packages varied in weight, 
but generally weighed about 200 pounds. 

Meal for export is ground very fine, and bolted clean. 
It is generally put up in 100 pound sacks, as one-twenti¬ 
eth of a “short ton” of 2,000 pounds; but for special orders 
it is sometimes put up in 112 pound sacks, as one-twenti¬ 
eth of the “long ton,” of 2,240 pounds, and sometimes in 


\ 



Fig. 9. Hydraulic Steam Pump 



























t 


no pounds sacks, as 50 kilograms. All meal for domestic - 
trade is put up in 100 pound sacks. 

The domestic demand was at first entirely as a fertilizer, 
both for use direct on the soil, and tor mixing with other 
ingredients to make a commercial fertilizer. This de¬ 
mand grew to immense proportions in the Southeastern 
States, where fertilizers were universally used. From 1880^ 
to 1890, about 90 per cent, of the meal made in that sec¬ 
tion was used for fertilizer, about 5 per cent, was exported, 
and the remainder was fed to cattle. 

In the Southwest, where but little fertilizer was requir¬ 
ed, about 75 per cent, of the meal and cake was exported 
to Europe for cattle feeding, while the remainder was fed 
to cattle, at home. 

At the present time, cattle feeding has become such air 
extensive business, both in the Southeast and Southwest, 
that of the whole amcunt of meal produced in both sec¬ 
tions, about 35 per cent is fed to cattle, about 35 per cent, 
is used for fertilizers, and the remainder is exported for 
feed. 

It has been so clearly demonstrated by experiment 
stations, and by other practical tests, that the principal 
value of cotton seed meal lies in its feeding, rather than its 
fertilizing qualities, that it is only a matter of time when 
practically all of che meal will be fed. The fertilizer works- 
are already accommodating themselves to this condition, 
and are partly substituting other sources of nitrogen for 
the cotton seed meal. 

The sacks, in which meal is shipped, consist largely of 
second hand wheat sacks, made originally to hold ioo 
pounds of wheat for export from California to the Orient. 
These sacks are often re-shipped with linseed to Eastern 
ports of the United States. When the linseed is used, 
the sacks are cleaned and put up in bales of 1,000, and sold 
to cotton oil mills. Fertilizer factories and cattle feeders 
frequently return sacks to the oil mills, to be used again 
and again. Meal is sold by gross weight, that is, no de¬ 
duction is made for the weight of the sacks. 

It is very difficult to empty absolutely all the meal from 


42 


the sacks, and hence the returned sacks are somewhat 
heavier than they were at first, so that notwithstanding 
their damaged condition, necessitating repairs, the oil mills 
are always willing to allow consumers the full price of new 
sacks for all those returned. 

Transportation and Uses of Cotton Seed Hulls. 

The first use of cotton seed hulls was for fuel to run the 
oil mills. Mills of forty tons (seed) capacity, and upward, 
always made enough hulls for a full supply of fuel, even 
with very ordinary steam plants; with good, econom¬ 
ical engines, there was considerable surplus; the larger 
the mill, the greater the surplus. It soon became a prob¬ 
lem to dispose of this large amount of useless product. It 
was difficult to even give it away. The bulky and light 
nature of the material, made it difficult of transportation, 
and so it was not of much fuel value to other plants located 
at a distance from the oil mill. A ton, in its loose state, 
occupies about 300 cubic feet, and is equal in fuel value to 
one-quarter ton of coal, which occupies about ten cubic feet. 

The use of cotton seed hulls as a cattle food was tried 
experimentally in the early days of the oil mill, but its true 
value, in comparison with other food stuffs was not real¬ 
ized until 1885 to 1890. About this time, systematic 
cattle feeding commenced, as an adjunct to oil milling in 
the Southwest. Large herds of Texas cattle were bought 
at low rates, and fed in pens near the mills, and when fat, 
shipped to the packing houses. The value of hulls as a 
cattle food was thus practically demonstrated on a large 
scale, so that there arose a steady demand for hulls from 
many sources, all over the cotton growing States. The 
problem of transportation then began to receive atten¬ 
tion. Hulls were at first shipped in bulk in box cars. By 
careful tramping, about twelve tons may be loaded into a 
car. Many hulls are still shipped in this way, some are 
put up by machinery into sacks; but the most general 
method is to pack them into bales about two feet square, 
weighing about 100 pounds. In this shape, 15 tons may 
he easily and quickly loaded into a box car. 



Fig. io. Cake Cracker. 









I 



































% 



The style of bale now in use is not entirely satisfactory, 
for the reason that it is only partially covered, and there 
is great waste in handling. There is a demand for some 
better method of packing cotton seed hulls for ship¬ 
ment. 


TABLE XIII. 

SHOWING VALUE AND AMOUNT OF SEED, 
CRUSHED, AND VALUE OF CRUDE MILL 
PRODUCTS, 1870 TO 1900. 


Year. 

No. of 
Mills. 

Tons of Seed. 

Value of Seed. 

Value of Products. 

1870 

26 

80,000 

$ 640,000 

$ 1,500,000 

1875 

35 

150,000 

1,500,000 

2,900,000 

1880 

45 

280,000 

2,800,000 

5,100,000 

1885 

80 

550,000 

5,500,000 

9,600,000 

1890 

119 

1,000,000 

12,000,000 

23.800,000 

1895 

250 

1,800,000 

21,600,000 

33,000,000 

1900 

400 

1,900,000 

23,800,000 

35,000,000 












48 


High Efficiency of Presses. 

To get best work out of presses, the slack should be 
taken up quickly when the press is filled. 

Saving Press Cloth. 

To save press cloth, the pressure above 500 pounds 
should go on very slowly. By this method, there is also 
less meal squeezed out with the oil. 

How to Accomplish the Above. 

We have designed a simple and effective method for tak¬ 
ing up the slack of the presses very quickly, and putting 
on the high pressure very gradually. 

The only machinery necessary is a high and a low pres¬ 
sure pump and an automatic valve. 

A mill having a high pressure pump would only have to 
get a low pressure pump and the valve, 
have to get the valve. 

A mill having a high and a low pressure pump would only 
pier automatic valve in place of one or both accumulators, 
pie automatic valve in place of one or both accumulators. 

The following is a description of our automatic valve 
(patent applied for), and its connections with the pumps 
and presses. The description and engravings are taken 
from the book “Cotton and Cotton Oil,” by D. A. Tomp- 
kns (copyrighted and used here by permission) : 
Improved Automatic Chaoge Valve, Fig* 107-Lettering 

Fig. 107 shows a cross section of an improved change 
valve, having fewer parts than any of the old forms. Both 
high and low pressure pumps are connected to this valve. 

A. —Pipe from low pressure pump. 

B. —Check over same. 

C. —Port to press pipe. 

D. —Pipe to press. 

E. —Pipe from high pressure pump. 

F. —Choke valve. 

Ci.—Stop valve, high pressure. 

H.—Stop valve, low pressure. 

J. —Crimp packing. 

K. —Leather gasket. 



Fig. 107. New Style Automatic Change Valve. 





























































































































SO 


When valve at press is first opened, low pressure flows 
through pipe A and check B, to press. 

At the same time the high pressure pump forces oil 
through the slot in choke valve F. (This slot is a mere 
notch filed across face of valve.) 

As oil passes through this choke valve its pressure be¬ 
comes as low as the pressure from the low pressure pump. 
Thus both pumps contributes to hasten the ram, and when 
comes as low as the pressure from low pressure pump, 
continuing to put oil through the choke valve F, gradually 
raises the pressure to above that of the low pressure pump. 
Then the check B closes, and the pressure continues to rise 
by the action of the high pressure pump alone. The choke 
valve makes this rise of pressure very gradual, and it is 
this regulation of the rise which saves the press cloth and 
makes a greater yield of oil from the presses. 

Fig. 108 shows a high and low pressure pump, piped 
up to three presses. More presses could be added if de¬ 
sired. 

A. —Low pressure pump. 

B. —High pressure pump. 

C. —Automatic change valve. 

D. —Side view of automatic change valve. 

E. H,—Press change valves. 

F. —Pipe to press. 

G. —Presses. 

K.—Discharge pipe to tank. 

The automatic change valve C (see Fig. 107), is put 
near pumps. By this plan only one line of the pipes is re¬ 
quired, to go from the automatic change valve to as many 
presses as one set of pumps will supply. 






Fig. 108. Pump and Press Connections. 






















































































































©U flIMll flfcacbmer?. 


(SEE ILLUSTRATIONS.) 


Sand and Boll Screer) 

Is made to clean the seed. It takes out, everything- larger 
than a seed and also everything smaller than a seed. For 
mills of 40 tons capacity and under, we build the combina¬ 
tion screen shown; for larger mills, we build two separate 
machines, one for sand and one for bolls. All of these ma¬ 
chines are Luilt complete in our shop, and shipped knocked 
down; but the parts are so carefully marked that there is 
no trouble in setting them up in the mill. Each machine 
is self contained, and complete within itself. One belt 
drives all the parts, including elevators and conveyors. 

Linter. 

x his machine ha~ 106 caws. The cylinder is made with 
iron or wood space blocks as desiied. It has a capacity of 
5 to 10 tons of seed per day of 24 hours. The less seed 
passed through one linter, the more lint is made per ton of 
seed. 

Huller. 

This is built in two sizes, No. 1 and No. 2. The ca¬ 
pacities are 30 and 80 tons cf seed per day respectively. 

Huller Feeder. 

This machine is designed to accomplish two results, (1) 
to regularly feed the seed, (2) to prevent foreign matter 
larger than a seed from going through to the huller. It is 
adjustable to any desired amount of feed. 




53 





* 


id 



Fig. 15. Separating Conveyors. 


/ 























































































































54 


Separating Screen. 

This is similar in construction and appearance to the 
sand and boll screen. It is provided with a shaker under¬ 
neath, to make the separation more perfect. It is self-con¬ 
tained, and is driven in the same manner as the sand and 
boll screen. 

Rolls. 

The illustration shows a set of rolls suitable for a ioo- 
ton mill. We furnish all sizes. The illustration shows 
the upper rolls driven by gear. We also furnish them 
driven by belts. 

heaters, Former, Presses. 

The illustration shows two 72-inch heaters, one former 
and two presses. These heaters are driven from a shaft 
underneath. We also furnish them driven from overhead 
if desired. We have two sizes: 52-inch and 72-inch. 
We arrange them as shown, or in “triple style/’ as re¬ 
quired. Our heaters are of solid cast iron, without seams, 
the steam jacket is cast with the heater body. The entire 
outside is jacketed with felt and finished up with Russia 
iron covering. They are provided with charging hoppers 
and easy working charging gates. 

Former. 

The illustration shows the self-acting steam carriage 
style. This has a separate direct acting steam cylinder to 
operate the carriage which distributes the meats in the 
former bed. We also furnish formers with hand carriage 
when desired. 

Presses. 

These have steel plates with extra strong side walls, and 
with ample drainage capacity. We furnish brass 
plates on special orders. We furnish presses with 
12 plates, or with 15 plates as desired. 

hydraulic Pump. 

We furnish all sizes and styles of hydraulic pumps, both 
belt driven and independent steam driven, such as shown 


Fig. i 6. Lint Baling Press. 
































57 


in the illustrations. They are made for low pressure or 
for high pressure as desired. They all have automatic 
and positive pressure regulators. 

Cake Cracker. 

This is to crack the cake preparatory to grinding. It is 
extra strong and does its work perfectly. 

Cake Mill. 

The illustration shows a style of mill which we have 
used with the best success for the past five years. It, will 
grind meal to any desired degree of fineness. If properly 
used it. grinds meal ready for export without bolting. If 
it is desired to bolt it, we also furnish machinery for this 
purpose. We have several different sizes. 

Linter Press. 

This may be made to pack up or down. One press will 
pack all the lint made in a hundred-ton mill. 

Hull Baling Press. 

We furnish the strongest press made for this purpose. 
It turns out perfect bales, and is easily operated. 

Saw Sharpener. 

Linter saws should be sharpened frequently. The il¬ 
lustration shows a perfect machine for the purpose. We 
have them with single heads and with double heads. 
When desired, we furnish a gummer attachment, to keep 
the teeth in good shape, and keep them from from wearing 
too short. 

Filter Press. 

We build filter presses for refineries. They have 18 
plates or 24 plates. The large one is suitable for a refinery 
with a 150-ton mill. Many crude oil mills now use filters 
for their crude oil. 

Conveyors. 

We furnish only the best steel flight conveyors. They 
are right or left hand, as shown in the illustration. 



Fig. 17 . Linter Saw Filer. 





















































4 


iS. Filter Pres 






















61 


Separating Conveyor. 

The illustration shows a form of separator made of con¬ 
veyors. This is a convenient arrangement for getting the 
last remaining meats out of the hulls, as they are carried 
from the mill to the hull house. 

Elevators. 

We furnish elevator cups, bolts, belts, and all necessary 
fixtures. 

Steam Pressure ReducingValve. 

These valves may be used for two different purposes: 
(i) to put in the steam pipe leading to the hydraulic pump, 
and reduce the steam pressure. This in turn limits the 
hydraulic pressure made by the pump to any desired ex¬ 
tent, regardless of the boiler pressure. 

(2) To put in the steam pipe leading to the steam jacket 
of the cooking heaters. 

If the boiler pressure is 100 pounds per square inch, and 
ouly 50 pounds is desired on the heater, this reducing valve 
will maintain the pressure constantly at the point desired. 
Many kinds of reducing valves give trouble, ours do not. 

In ordering valves, state what service they are expected 
to perform. 

Hydraulic PressureRegulators. 

These regulators are operated by hydraulic pressure, so 
that when the pressure reaches any desired point the pump 
stops. 

The regulator accomplishes in a different way the same 
results as the pressure-reducing valve. 

Either machine will give the desired result. 

Hydraulic Safety Valve. 

No matter what regulator is used on a hydraulic pump, 
a safety valve is necessary. We furnish them, set for any 
desired pressure. 


62 



Fig. 19. Steam Trap. 

Steam Traps. 

Every heater in a cotton seed oil mill ought to have a 
trap on it, to drain out the condensed water. If condensed 
water remains in a heater, it will get cold and will not cook 
properly. Many kinds of traps will not work. Ours is 
simple, and when once adjusted cannot fail to work. It 
has no float or other movable part. We furnish several 
different sizes. 

Fire Protection. 

We build towers and tanks of all kinds for fire protec¬ 
tion. These may be either iron or steel. 

Oil Taoks. 

We build steel tanks, with or without covers, for storage 
of cotton seed oil. 

Improvements. 

All the illustrations shown are from machines built for 
actual service. We are constantly improving our machin¬ 
ery. These improvements necessitate changes of design 
and of arrangement. We therefore reserve the right to 
make such changes as in our judgment may seem to be of 
advantage to our customers and ourselves. 

The purpose of this note is that no fault will be found 
if machines built after this pamphlet is issued should not 
be as shown in these illustrations. 

Repairs. 

We are prepared to make in our machine shop, and fur¬ 
nish any repairs for oil mills or cotton mills. We make 
patterns when necessary. We send out experts to ex¬ 
amine into the operation of a mill and report on economies. 
We make a special valve to save press cloth. 

We make a hydraulic change valve for use with high 
and low pressure pumps. 







Fig. 20. Tower and Tank. 







































64 


In our machine shop we make and cut gears of all kinds. 
Besides ordinary gear-cutting machines we have one of the 
largest and most improved gear-cutters in the South. 

We have the largest pipe-cutting machine in this section, 
and are prepared to cut and fit pipe of all sizes. 

We have boring bars and all appliances to refit Corliss 
engines, rebore the cylinders, rebore the valves, and make 
new valves when necessary, and are prepared to put in 
new crank pins. In short, we do any repairs or overhaul¬ 
ing on Corliss engines, and have competent men to send 
out with indicators to test and examine Corliss engines 
and report the condition. 

Designers and Builders. 

We make complete plans and specifications, and build 
cotton mills and cotton seed oil mills from ground to 
finish, and install with the best machinery made. 

Fertilizers. 

Fig. 19 shows the outside appearance of a fertilizer 
mixer we build in our shops. We have put out a number 
of these mixers and they have worked with entire satis¬ 
faction. 

For full discussion of the subject of manufacture and 
mixing of fertilizers of all kinds, see the book “Cotton 
and Cotton Oil,” by D. A. Tompkins, Chapter XV. In 
this is given full list of material commonly used, and for¬ 
mula for mixing. 

THE D. A. TOMPKINS CO., Charlotte, N. C., 
Engineers, Machinists and Contractors. 


f 




Fig. 21. Tompkins Fertilizer Mixer. 















































































































66 


NEW BOOKS 

By D. A. TOMPKINS. 

Cotton and Cotton Oil, i Vol. complete . $7.50 

Or in two volumes, as follows: 

Vol. I., Cotton. 5 oo 

Vol. II., Cotton Oil . 5.00 

Cotton Mile, Commercial Features . 5.00 

Cotton Mill, Processes and Calculations. . . 5.00 

Cotton Values in Textile Fabrics. 2.50 

American Commerce, Its Expansion . 1.00 

Working People, Their Savings and Their 
Homes. 1.00 


L. of C. 









COTTON AND COTTON OIL. 


By D. A. TOMPKINS, Charlotte, N. C. 


contents. 

PART I. COTTON. 

CHAPTER I. 
INTRODUCTORY.— 

Origin of cotton planting in United States. History 
previous to invention of saw gin. Influence of roller 
gin. Influence of saw gin. Table showing production 
and price from 1790 to 1900. Mutual influence cot¬ 
ton planting and slavery. The Civil War. Cotton 
planting with free labor. Present magnitude. 

CHAPTER II. 

INVENTION OF THE SAW GIN.— 

First step: Wooden cylinder with spikes, by Eli 
Whitney. Second step: Saw gin, by Hodgen 
Holmes. Certified copies of patents. Georgia suits 
for infringement of patent right. Royalties paid 
Whitney by Southern States. 

CHAPTER III. 

PREPARATION OF COTTON FOR THE MARKET 
WITH SLAVE LABOR.— 

Early gins. Early gin houses with horse power. The 
wooden screw press. Improved methods and ma¬ 
chines. Hauling bales of cotton 25 miles to market. 


68 


CHAPTER IV. 

THE PLANTATION BEFORE THE CIVIL WAR.— 

General organization of plantation. Home products 
and economy. Amusements on the plantation. Com¬ 
bination of work and play. The master. The over¬ 
seer. The slave. Plantation during the war. Loyalty 
of the slave to the master and master to slave. 

CHAPTER V. 

PREPARATION OF COTTON FOR THE MARKET 
AS MODIFIED BY THE ABOLITION OF SLAV¬ 
ERY.— 


White man meets new conditions and adapts himself. 
Improved machinery. Labor saving inventions. In¬ 
creased production. 

CHAPTER VI. 

MODERN COTTON GIN, PRESS AND GINNERY.— 

History of improvements on gin. Evolution of the 
gin house. Intermediate stages. Present types. 
Round bale. Compresses. 

CHAPTER VII. 

PLANTING, CULTIVATION AND HARVESTING 
COTTON.— 

Preparation of ground Time to plant. Chopping out. 
Plowing. Fertilizing. Implements of culture. 
Insect enemies. Picking and harvesting. 

CHAPTER VIII. 

MARKETING COTTON.— 

Ante-bellum factor methods. Post-bellum methods. 
Middle men. Exporting. 


69 

CHAPTER IX. 

THE PLANTATION, DURING AND AFTER THE 
CIVIL WAR.— 

With slave labor. With emancipated negro labor. 
Methods of paying laborers. Renters, tenants, crop¬ 
pers, day wages. Influence of cotton factories. Influ¬ 
ence of cotton oil mills. Neighboring manufacturing 
enterprises make farming more attractive. Farm 
lands increasing in value. 

PART II. COTTON OIL. 

CHAPTER X. 

COTTON SEED.— 

Constituent elements, oil, meal, lint, hulls. Micro¬ 
scopic study of seed. Varieties and their relative 
values to oil mills. 

CHAPTER XI. 

COTTON SEED OIL, COMMERCIAL FEATURES.— 

History of oil milling. Purchasing seed. Uses made 
of various products. Value of products. Markets 
for products. Packages for products. Table show¬ 
ing quantities and values of products for 30 years. 

CHAPTER XII. 

COTTON SEED OIL, MECHANICAL FEATURES 
AND PROCESSES.— 

Detailed description of each machine and its opera¬ 
tions. Table showing speed and power for each ma¬ 
chine. Quality of raw material and its relation to fin¬ 
ished products. Mill buildings. How to reduce fire 
risks by proper construction. 


70 


CHAPTER XIII. 

COTTON SEED OIL REFINING.— 

Chemical considerations. Mechanical considerations. 
Old methods. Present practice. Variety of finished 
products. By products. Suitable buildings. Storage 

CHAPTER XIV. 

CATTLE FEEDING.— 

Early experiments. Government investigations. 
Growth in the Southwest. Introduction into the South¬ 
east. Varieties of cattle for feeding. Markets for 
fatted cattle. Transportation of cattle. By products. 

PART III. CORRELATED INDUSTRIES. 

CHAPTER XV. 

FERTILIZERS.— 

Composition and uses. Manipulating and mixing on 
the farm. Raw materials. Manipulating and mixing 
at small oil mills. Cotton seed meal as a raw material. 
Experiment station work. 

CHAPTER XVI. 

FERTILIZER MANUFACTURE.— 

Chemical considerations. Mechanical considerations. 
Machinery. Raw materials. Phosphate rock. Pebble 
phosphate. Sulphuric acid in its relation to fertili¬ 
zers. Manufacture of sulphuric acid. 

APPENDIX. 

DOCUMENTS RELATING TO INVENTION OF 
COTTON GIN. TABLES AND MISCELLANY.— 

Verbatim court records in cotton gin cases. Theory of 
cattle feeding. Sundry notes on cattle feeding. 

This book will contain over 500 pages and over 100 
original engravings. Price, complete in one volume, 
$7.50; or in two volumes, price $5.00 each. 

ORDER FROfl D. A TOflPKINS, CHARLOTTE, N. C. 


Other Books by D. A. Tompkins. 

Cotton Mill, Commercial Features. 

This is a book for the intending investor in cotton mill 
properties, and for the use of those who are now operating 
them. It contains tables, showing costs of different kinds 
of mills, and costs of operating on different classes of pro¬ 
ducts. 240 pages, 70 full page engravings. Bound in 
cloth. [PRICE $5.00.] 

Cotton Mill, Processes and Calculations. 

This is a text book for the use of textile schools and for 
mill superintendents, overseers and ambitious operatives. 
It discusses in minute detail every machine and process 
and calculations, needed in the cotton mill. 312 pages. 
52 full page engravings. Bound in cloth. [PRICE 
$s.oo.] 

American Commerce, Its Expansion. 

A collection of essays and addresses relating to the ex¬ 
tension of foreign markets for American manufacturers. 
154 pages. Bound in cloth. [PRICE $1.00.] 

Cotton Values in Textile Fabrics. 

A collection of cloth samples, bound in book form and 
arranged, to show the value of cotton when converted into 
different kinds of cloth. Tables showing the value of a 
crop of 500,000 bales when manufactured. 18 samples. 
Bound in cloth. [PRICE $2.50.] 

Working People, Their Savings and Their Homes. 

[PRICE $1.00.] 

R ROH D. A TOHPKINS, CHARLOTTE, N. C. 





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